AMES, Iowa — Volunteers gathered at the Ames Lowe’s on Saturday as a way to help some kids in the area sleep better.

The Ames Chapter of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” launched about a year and a half ago. The idea is to build beds for kids in the area from ages 3 to 17. This Chapter builds for Story and parts of Boone County. 

Saturday’s event was hosted by the Ames Lowe’s store.  Some of the employees also volunteered to assist with the effort by constructing beds.

“We saw a clip on TV that people were building beds in a Lowe’s parking lot for kids,” said Chapter President Bob Olinger. “Being retired, I said that is a round peg in a round hole, and I couldn’t turn down that opportunity.” 

The organization has 350 Chapters nationwide, and 18 in Iowa. In Central Iowa, there are chapters in Creston, Norwalk, Des Moines, and Ames. Currently, there is a need for 17 more beds in the Ames area. The organization has built and delivered 171 beds so far.

Donations pay for the wood and materials, and the volunteers do the work of assembly and delivery. Applications are done through an online process on the Sleep in Heavenly Peace website.

“Often, kids need a bed. They might be sleeping on the air mattress, or on the floor, on the davenport, or even with mom or dad, we want to get them off of that, onto their own bed,” said Olinger.

“We get the blessing when we walk into that home and set up the bed, and the kids giggle and jump on the bed and smile. We do it to be able to serve others to fill in need, as do all our other volunteers.”

The mission statement on the Sleep in Heavenly Peace website says:

“We believe service is about much more than constructing beds for kids in need. Our mission of NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN! extends to building communities, transforming lives, and creating opportunities for personal growth and learning. Every bed we build demonstrates the power of service and the incredible potential that emerges when people come together with a shared purpose.”